The Goddess Department's War

The expressions of the goddesses from the Goddess Department had now gone completely slack, their minds utterly blown. Their rage had long since devoured their reason and crossed the threshold of what they could process.

'Divine power is a god's everything.'

A god who lost their divine power was no longer a god, but a false deity. If even their Innate Divine Power—not just the power accumulated through faith—was forcibly stripped away, they would be reduced to nothing more than a low-ranking spirit in the Spirit Realm, no longer a spirit god. Such a measure was reserved for unforgivable traitors of the divine realm, enacted only after the Main Divine Realm gathered consensus and a Creator God carried it out.

'That shocking clause is written explicitly in the contract that names us.'

This applied even to the managerial goddesses. There was no way the gods they served would tolerate goddesses who did not belong to their own divine realm. The probability that their Innate Divine Power would be forcibly reclaimed was extremely high. Only then did the numbers make sense: the combat goddesses’ combined 15 billion in Innate Divine Power plus the managerial goddesses’ 7 billion would exceed 20 billion.

'Some of the higher-ups in the Main Divine Realm already knew we were here.'

'They must have leaked our information to that High Lord.'

Beyond the screen, they could see the faces of the goddesses they had once called friends, now pale as ash, unable to even look at them. They had believed they were maintaining good relations by exchanging information between divine realms. In the end, it seemed they were the only ones being used.

The sudden surge in communications and visits had all been the foundation of this conspiracy. They had been foolish enough to provide some of the information themselves. That was why every single goddess present was now struggling to contain a rage so intense it threatened to drive them mad.

“Khhhk—!”

Even as they thrashed about, trying to attack their enemy, the target was simply too far away. Thanks to the Dimensional and War God’s consideration, the goddesses had expanded their area of activity from the divine realm to the solar system, but it was still strictly limited. That divine realm, however, was an enormous distance away from this solar system. Unable to take revenge, their resentment festered so deeply they couldn’t even curse properly—they could only grind their teeth in fury.

“This justification is more than enough. The one who reigns above the heavens, a Main God whose Karma is ‘extreme good,’ has entered into a contract with me—a Main God of a single divine realm and the one currently managing it—to lead that realm to annihilation. Are you prepared for a Main God War? Against me, of all people.”

“!?”

‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠

Woooong—! Oooong—!

The small sun and moon of Origin were summoned, orbiting the Dimensional and War God protectively, while the Demon King’s divine weapons also emanated a chilling killing intent as they settled into both his hands.

Popopopopopop—!

Thousands of Main God-Slaying Spears materialized endlessly along circles of divine power, completely filling the empty space. The Lord Slayer authority contained within the divine power sparked like flames, amplifying their ferocity.

The sudden display of a High Lord’s divine ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠majesty and combat readiness froze the goddesses in place. They had been ready to tear off their cumbersome dresses and charge straight into that distant divine realm, even if it meant accepting their summons to the Spirit Realm and the possibility of defeat or death.

'They were so worked up they were about to rush to that divine realm, treating their summons to the Spirit Realm and the matter of victory, defeat, or life and death as secondary concerns.'

'But the Dimensional and War God’s Dimensional Authority is now pressing down on everyone, completely dominating time and space. It’s utterly blocked.'

With nothing more than the deployment of his divine power, he completely sealed spatial movement for any Intermediate Lord or below and restricted their authorities. This was the power of an Absolute Being—the Dimensional and War God—who had been judged capable of standing against the gods of the Substitute Gods faction.

Once spatial movement and authorities were restricted, no Main God of equal or lower rank could possibly defeat him.

“I am asking whether you tried to trap me in order to wage an all-out Main God War between myself and your Main God of the ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠Divine Realm. If so, I will gladly accept. However, the contract must come first—the one stating that all negative Karma arising from destruction and killing during battle will be borne by the loser.”

Whiiiiiir—!

The Karma Contract, now bearing the temporary qualification of a prospective Creator God and the power of a High Lord, radiated a blindingly brilliant light as it appeared before the utterly defeated High Lord on the other side of the screen.

“Sign it. From that moment on, all restrictions of Karma will be ignored. You may mobilize everything you possess and fight to the death. All of this follows the laws and regulations of the Main Divine Realm. When a Main God of equal divine rank threatens and insults the Main God of another divine realm, it constitutes a formal declaration of Main God War. The Main Divine Realm will only acknowledge the outcome. The loser will shoulder all negative Karma from the destructive acts committed during the war and be annihilated.”

“Ughhh—!”

It was an undeniable fact that the High Lord who reigned above the heavens was powerful.

'Aside from the prospective Demon God King of the Demon God Realm, I never once considered the possibility of defeat.'

His own divine realm was formidable as well, with one Upper Main God who was his partner, two Intermediate Lords, five regular Main Gods, and more than four additional Main God-level beings. He even ruled over several high-ranking subordinate realms governed by his direct bloodline.

'However, even with this military strength, it is impossible to defeat a Main God from the Substitute Gods faction.'

Yet that monstrous Dimensional and War God was capable of doing exactly that. Even alone, he clearly held overwhelming superiority. On top of that, the vicious goddesses whose eyes had rolled back in fury—now fully releasing their divine power in a radiant blaze after tearing apart even their gorgeous dresses—were no pushovers either. They were enraged by the contract that sought to forcibly reclaim all of their Innate Divine Power and reduce them to low-ranking spirits.

'Their combat ability is astonishingly high relative to their divine power. Even if every Main God in my realm below the intermediate rank joined forces, our odds of victory would be slim.'

Knowing how strong the goddesses were, he had planned to pit them against the Dimensional and War God to reduce their numbers, then secure the cooperation of the Main Divine Realm for a full subjugation. But the Dimensional and War God had refused to fight. Instead, he had wielded political power based on his own divine power, completely reversing the situation. Having even received the qualification of a prospective Creator God directly from the Creator God, there was no way the Main Divine Realm would side against him. Honestly, there was no chance of victory anymore.

'My original plan assumed he was a regular Main God whose output reached the level of an Upper Main God—two stages above. I never intended to face a monstrous Main God whose output as a High Lord allowed him to contend with a High Lord from the Substitute Gods faction.'

Even if they somehow won by forming alliances with other divine realms, their own realm would be reduced to ruins, and the compensation demanded by the mercenary god would finish them off. No one would participate in a war against the Dimensional and War God.

It was easy to say he could stand against a High Lord from the Substitute Gods faction. Now that the Substitute Gods had been strengthened, it would normally require at least fifteen Main Gods of equal rank. Yet he had faced them alone, endured, and survived.

'There are no more than three High Lords who could possibly join me in a Main God War through our alliance. Even I would not participate if the opponent were the Dimensional and War God. Above all, there is now zero justification left.'

At first, the justification had been to suppress the chaos in the divine realm that had fallen ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠to intermediate rank due to the goddesses’ rampage. But the Dimensional and War God had chosen political negotiation, offering management and promotion of the realm, completely ruining the plan. In the end, their scheme to trap him, cause mutual destruction with the rebellious goddesses, and seize the divine realm had been exposed.

'If the Dimensional and War God were still a regular Main God from the past, an unratified contract would not be an issue. But now he is the Main God of the Divine Realm of a highest-ranked divine realm, a High Lord equal to me.'

The opinion of the strong is judged to be unconditionally correct. In this situation, the previous contract he had made with the former Main God of the Divine Realm—who had been his superior—became a serious problem. Even if he brought up a Main God War, he would have nothing to say.

A deep sigh escaped the High Lord’s lips.

'Hooooooo—! If I hadn’t spent every last bit of spare vitality I had accumulated while supporting my direct descendant’s Substitute God authentication battle, I wouldn’t have had to resort to this. That incompetent son of mine is truly my mortal enemy. And my calculations regarding the Dimensional and War God’s power and personality were completely wrong. Why didn’t he fight the rebellious goddesses? Why did he choose to preserve a divine realm that wasn’t even fully his yet, donate the divine power he received as a management fee, and even help it ascend?'

'More importantly, can I even defeat the Dimensional and War God?'

Having become a High Lord after countless battles and authentication trials, he was a powerhouse in his own right. Once again, he compared the Dimensional and War God’s fully released divine power and combat strength against his own—and finally raised both hands in surrender.

'I can’t win. His output is higher, and after analyzing the mercenary battles he fought in the Demon God Star, the conclusion is clear. I cannot possibly defeat him.'

Seeing it in person, the sheer scale of that divine power and authority was enough to draw genuine gasps of awe. It was powerful enough to completely suppress even those notoriously vicious and mighty goddesses of the Main Divine Realm with nothing but his presence.

'At first I thought he had dressed them in dresses rather than armor and kept them waiting in a personal temple instead of a war temple because he planned to take them all as concubines after suppressing the rebellion. To take goddesses who possess the Lord Slayer authority as his harem… he truly is an incredible lecher god.'

No matter how beautiful they were, it was astonishing that he had taken all those vicious goddesses—who had killed and annihilated the male gods who were either their partners or prospective partners—and claimed them as his concubines all at once.

'With that level of lust, there may be room for negotiation using only the goddesses under his command. He has only just been promoted to High Lord, so he must be severely lacking in subordinate gods.'

He knew all too well how difficult it was to fill the shortage of high-ranking gods that came with promotion, having experienced it several times himself.

'This time, he offered twice the usual promotion vitality to the Main Divine Realm, yet he still hasn’t filled all the new divine positions, has he?'

The vitality he could offer as compensation was already on the verge of bankruptcy, so he couldn’t give any away. Most of the male gods—especially the gods of war and combat—could not be spared either, as they were preparing for localized wars against the demon race and the Substitute Gods authentication battles.

However, there were many managerial goddesses currently waiting in the Spirit Waiting Station. They had died in the aftermath of the authentication battles and could not be revived due to the lack of vitality.

There wasn’t a single Main God who didn’t know that the compensation the Dimensional and War God had received for his mercenary service against the High Lord of the Substitute Gods faction consisted of goddesses, female demon gods, and female Absolute Beings.

'When they heard he had received goddesses as payment for a mercenary war where he had been prepared to face annihilation, everyone laughed and called him an incredible lecher god. But now, that has become his lifeline.'

The goddesses who had been waiting in the Spirit Realm Waiting Area for an indefinite period, hoping for revival with no promise in sight, would not refuse if given another chance. It was also well known that he had rapidly restored the goddesses who accepted subordination. Even in the Spirit Realm, people were surprised by how quickly he had done so. The atmosphere was actually welcoming.

After quickly assessing and confirming all of this, the Main God who reigned above the heavens ultimately chose not to sign the Karma Contract for the Main God War. Instead, he selected apology and compensation.

'Lowering one’s head to the strong is never a disgrace. I simply need to become stronger later and make him lower his head to me in turn.'